Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has offered to reinstate the band's cancelled Australian tour if the promoter behind the axed dates offers him an apology.
The heavy metal star pulled the group's shows Down Under earlier this month following a dispute with the organisers of the touring Soundwave festival.
A message posted on the event's official website suggested former Metallica star Jason Newsted had been kicked off the bill at Megadeth's request, prompting Mustaine to vehemently deny the story.
Megadeth subsequently axed their appearances at Soundwave due to "circumstances beyond its control" but Mustaine has now declared he will reinstate the shows if he receives an apology from the festival's outspoken promoter, AJ Maddah, over the Newsted misunderstanding.
In a post on his Facebook page, Mustaine writes, "All I asked for was an apology for blaming me for something I didn't do. I am still willing to play, but the promoter would rather not apologise and prefers to say I asked him to lie, which I didn't. Am I the only one that sees how easy it is to fix this? The AJ Maddah that I know is a wise and caring man, and I don't know what has happened to my old friend. My bags are packed Aussie fans."
Maddah later claimed he had tried apologising to Mustaine, but had not been able to contact the rocker, writing in a series of posts on his Twitter page, "So here it is Dave. I apologise for whatever slight you think I have done you... So, does this mean tour is back on?... All you are doing by cancelling is punishing the fans who have had no part in any of this."
